Fake histories? Original bands, contemporary formations and Little River Band

ABSTRACT

The artist as ‘star-text’ remains intrinsic to the music industry's understandings of ‘authenticity’ and subsequent commodification of the music artist (and circulations of celebrity). Partial band ‘reunions’ and touring acts with few original band members speak to the economic rewards in continuing well-known bands as brands. This article examines the cultural and intellectual property contexts of the current Little River Band, and the bitter battle between founding and current members/company owners who own the band name trademark. Within the contemporary entertainment industries, it unpacks the concept of intentionality to examine a case study where the current band enterprise has arguably blurred histories, continuances, authorship and intent. Beyond its complex legal contexts and histories, the Little River Band case study is useful for raising other questions about cultural heritage and who has the right to speak ‘truth to cultural experience’ (Middleton 1990, 127).

KEYWORDS:

• Music histories
• authenticity
• fake bands
• music industry

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Manzarek and Krieger subsequently performed/toured their new band with the name Riders on the Storms; it included The Police drummer, Stewart Copeland.

2. Singer Glenn Shorrock’s comment while performing an LRB medley with Birtles and Goble (under the name BSG) on the Countdown Spectacular in 2007 (see ‘Little River Band Medley 2011). Several Countdown tours were conducted, allowing baby boomers to revisit key hits and acts from the popular ABC TV programme that ran from 1974 to 1987.

3. A similar ruling in the UK allowed Tony Hadley, Norman and Keeble to use ‘ex-Spandau Ballet’ in future tours, but not ‘Spandau Ballet’, which was owned by songwriter Gary Kemp’s company, Marbelow (Cameron 2006).

4. According to the web site Discogs (2021), the band has had 32 members since 1975, including the past US line-ups managed by Housden and Nelson.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shane Homan

Shane Homan is an Associate Professor in the School of Media, Film and Journalism at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. His most recent publications are The Music Export Business: Born Global (Routledge, 2021) with Stephen Chen, Richard Vella and Tracy Redhead; and Melbourne Music City: Urban Cultures, Histories and Policy (with Seamus O’Hanlon, Catherine Strong and John Tebbutt) (Bloomsbury, 2022). He is the editor of the Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music Policy (2022).